Each week we address one chapter of the Tao Te Ching. The Tao Te Ching can be obscure, especially if you think you're supposed to understand what it's saying! We find it easier and more instructive to simply contemplate how the chapter resonates with your personal experience. Becoming more aware at this fundamental level simplifies life. This approach conforms to the view that true knowing lies within ourselves. Thus, when a passage in the scripture resonates, you've found your inner truth. The same applies for when it evokes a question; questions are the grist for self realization.

Chapter 29
Whoever takes the empire and wishes to do anything to it I see will have no
respite. The empire is a sacred vessel and nothing should be done to it.
Whoever lays hold of it will ruin it; whoever lays hold of it will lose it.

Hence some things lead and some follow;
Some breathe gently and some breathe hard;
Some are strong and some are weak;
Some destroy and some are destroyed.

Therefore the wise avoids excess, extravagance, and arrogance.

Read commentary previously posted for this chapter.

[Note: I italicize phrases I borrow from the chapter, and link to phrases I borrow from other chapters to help tie chapters together. While making it more tedious to read, the Tao Te Ching is best pondered in the context of the whole.

Ain't this the truth! That's why following this 'one does less and less until one does nothing at all' approach to life appeals so deeply to me. How closely I follow this model depends on how keenly I feel, at any particular moment, that the empire is a sacred vessel. When I sense Nature is perfect and thus will not benefit from my meddling, I can let 'it' be. The imperfections I feel are simply about me, reflecting what I need and fear, love and hate, i.e., 'perfect' is what I want - need. The 'imperfect' is what is standing in the way of the 'ideal world' I desire.

These matter-of-fact ruthless views, e.g., some destroy and some are destroyed, underscore how we contend with reality, i.e., how things are. This is particularly obvious in the theology of the West (Judeo, Christian, Islamic). The West seeks, through righteous free will, to lay hold of it and 'win the battle' between good and evil. By contrast, the Taoist view sees both the 'good and bad' as integral and sacred aspects of the empire. Like two halves of a circle, both share a mysterious sameness. Of course, this is a little hard to swallow when you're on the destroyed and weak side of the circle, which make the Western paradigm all the more palatable.

Like all living things, I pursue what I need and avoid what I fear. I do what I want just like the squirrel, the ant, and the bacteria. However, I'm able to form an ideal reality in my mind made up of what I think-feel I need. This is the origin of that nasty six letter word, should. My 'ideal world' view compells me to feel something should be done to it. 'It'? 'It' is what ever slice of the empire I am attempting to lay hold of.

The empire - the uncarved block - is like the grand sweep of Nature that I see everywhere I look. Within this sweep I see life and death, I feel joy and sorrow, I lead and I follow. My desire to show favoritism toward any one side is rooted in the instinctive push for survival - either for me personally or an empathetic 'projection'.

This is obvious, no? Yet, it is surprising how unaware we are of these primal forces that operate within us 'subconsciously' whenever we wish to do anything. This is what they 'should' be teaching in school! This and, of course, the teaching that uses no words ...

As I have become aware of these instinctive forces that drive my life, I naturally seem to avoid excess, extravagance, and arrogance, at least more than before. It is not that I try to avoid excess, but rather it is wisdom - knowing what is going on - that makes avoiding excess unavoidable. It is really easy. Failing to watch is the only thing that stands in my way.